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Tony Hinchcliffe

Tony Hinchcliffe

An insult comic who turned judging open mics into an arena sport.

Portrait credit:

Photo: Lisa Gansky from New York, NY, USA / CC-BY-SA-2.0

3 specials · 2016–2026

Start with One Shot, the breakthrough (2016 · 57 min · Netflix)

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Tony Hinchcliffe delivers standup at a slow, nasal pace. He treats the audience like a classroom that needs to be corralled, pacing the stage with a posture that suggests he is already bored with the conversation. He throws out vicious insults and simply waits the crowd out, smiling slightly when a joke draws a groan instead of a laugh.

Specials

  • Man of the People

    Tony Hinchcliffe brings insult comedy to a solo stand-up set.

    Netflix

  • KILL TONY: WrestleMania

    Amateur comedians face WWE stars in a chaotic Las Vegas showcase.

    Netflix

  • One Shot Start here

    An unedited, single-take comedy set from a roast writer's early career.

    Netflix · 57 min

On stage

He is a central figure in the Austin comedy scene. Through his live podcast Kill Tony, he took the awkward reality of open mics—amateurs bombing in front of a crowd—and turned it into a live touring franchise. He sits at the center of the stage as a cruel host, roasting young comics or granting them sudden favor.

His solo material is built like a roast. He spent years writing for televised celebrity roasts, and his club act uses the same tools: minimal setups, deliberate timing, and targeted punchlines. He doesn’t tell winding stories. He writes compact jokes designed to test the boundaries of taste. He commits entirely to the ugliest premise he can find, leaning in rather than backing down when his punchlines generate real-world controversy.

He came up at the Los Angeles Comedy Store before relocating to Texas to become a fixture of the Comedy Mothership ecosystem. On stage, he remains exactly what he is behind the podcast desk: a comic who builds his act out of watching people squirm.

Turning points

  1. Launch of the Kill Tony Podcast

    Hinchcliffe created the live weekly showcase Kill Tony at The Comedy Store, which grew from a local club experiment into an arena-selling global comedy phenomenon.

  2. Relocation of Kill Tony to Austin

    Hinchcliffe moved his show to Austin, Texas, eventually anchoring Kill Tony as a permanent flagship attraction at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership.

  3. Madison Square Garden Campaign Rally Controversy

    During an appearance at a Donald Trump presidential campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Hinchcliffe drew intense backlash for a roast routine targeting Puerto Rico.

At a glance

Born
, Youngstown, Ohio
On stage
since 2007
Style
roast, insult comedy, observational, blue comedy, crowdwork
Breakout
Kill Tony
Influences
Jeff Ross
Topics
Elsewhere
Website, Wikipedia

Fans also like

  • Jeff Ross

    As Hinchcliffe's direct mentor and collaborator, Jeff Ross shares his razor-sharp roast sensibility and insult-heavy joke mechanics.

    Photo: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States / CC-BY-2.0

  • Joe Rogan

    A longtime tour mate and central figure in Hinchcliffe's Austin comedy circle, Rogan shares an overlapping standup audience and collaborative history.

    Photo: Steven Crowder / CC-BY-3.0

Podcasts

  • Kill Tony · host

    A weekly live podcast variety show where amateur and aspiring comedians draw names from a bucket to perform a one-minute set followed by critique and feedback from a celebrity panel.

    Spotify · Apple Podcasts · YouTube

Also on screen

Crashing Tony Hinchcliffe